A commentary on rabbinic texts and toxicality

July 31, 2005

Matt Clement meet Rabbi Moshe Feinstein

Red Sox ace pitcher Matt Clement got hit upside the head by a line drive last Tuesday. While recuperating, he can check out the opinion of R. Moshe Feinstein on the hazards of professional baseball. Looking at the danger of getting hit by a pitch, R. Feinstein applies moral (halakhic) reasoning that treats the pitchers the same as the batters. R. Feinstein did not factor in the rare chance of the pitcher getting beaned by a hit. Still, it seems clear that a professional pitcher, once he consents to the chance of beaning a batter, also presumably consents to the lesser chance of being struck himself.